The present invention relates to a transverse leaf spring assembly for a motor vehicle.
The following discussion of related art is provided to assist the reader in understanding the advantages of the invention, and is not to be construed as an admission that this related art is prior art to this invention.
Springs in the form of leaf spring are used for control and suspension of vehicle wheels. A leaf spring is normally made of resilient material such as metal and/or plastic and/or composites and has an elongate, typically beam-shaped configuration with a midsection and at least two ends.
When referring to a transverse leaf spring, a leaf spring is involved which is arranged horizontally transversely to a longitudinal axis of the motor vehicle. In midsection, the transverse leaf spring is typically connected or mounted to the vehicle body via two bearing units. In this way, the two ends of the transverse leaf spring are able to execute a substantially vertical spring motion. The transverse leaf spring interacts with wheel carriers or with a further component of the wheel suspension via terminal bearings on the ends of the transverse leaf spring. The transverse leaf spring assumes wheel-controlling functions, steering functions as well as damping and load-bearing tasks and may substitute helical springs and/or stabilizers necessary in the conventional wheel suspension.
The use of wheel controlling transverse leaf springs thus enables the elimination of stabilizers, required heretofore, including their bearings, or of swivel supports, transverse control arms and conventional helical springs. As a result, the number of components is reduced and assembly is simplified. Still, depending on stiffness requirements, determined by vehicle weight, vehicle comfort, vehicle dynamics and/or chassis tuning etc., different transverse leaf springs are required with respective stiffness rates that have diverse cross sectional geometries. As a result, the cross section of transverse leaf springs used within a vehicle line varies, while the installation situation of the transverse leaf spring in the chassis still remains the same. Thus, each type of transverse leaf spring requires modifications to compensate for the differences in geometry. This is cumbersome and disadvantageous.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved transverse leaf spring assembly to obviate prior art shortcomings and to enable an efficient installation of different transverse leaf springs with diverse cross sectional geometry, even though the installation space in a vehicle line or family is the same.